This country wide program was introduced after the sad demise of Benazir Bhutto as a brain child of her husband and was intended to provide income support to poor families- widows, orphans, cripples and other very low income sections of the society. But how they were to be identified was quite a tricky question and it was initiated without proper planning and untrained as well as un employed youth were selected to carry out the said survey and then assigned areas where they asked certain questions at random and distributed Forms and thus collected haphazardly a fixed number of families based on production of NCNIC. This was easier for the more crafty elements under direction of the then MNAs. After submission of those Forms, the Funds were released and began to come to the Bank Accounts that had been shown or Banks accounts were made compulsory which was also a problem for those who had not so far got CNICs so they could not open Bank Acounts or did it after many visits to NADRA offices.
That was about ten years ago. When all the system became known to general public they were amazed that most of this income had been snatched away by the well- to- do families who were not at all deserving but it was then like crying over spilt milk, widows and orphans wept for months and still weeping in certain cases due to deprivation of that windfall. Injustice had been perpetrated and it was enormous.
In the last 10 years the position has changed :-
The orphans are now grown up and earn money in various ways, many earn enough to feed their families. Many of them run their businesses.
Many have got govt. jobs and no more deserve this support.
Many widows have died and don?t need it.
Many have remarried and therefore, do not deserve it.
Many have gone over seas and bring enough money
The injustices are still in practice and people with many sources of income; and don?t deserve it at all. The time has come to restructure it based on a new enumeration of the deserving poor people based on latest data to be carried out thoroughly across the country and be scrutinized, reconsidered and all the defects be verified twice before selection of the really deserving deprived section of our society .. Prof. Rahmat Karim Baig, Chitral 20 Oct 2018
2 thoughts on “Malpractices in ‘Benazir Income Support Program’”
The very name ‘Benazir income support program’ is a misnomer. What did Benazir do for the poor? She and her husband looted the country and stashed away the wealth in foreign countries. If the income support program was being funded from her personal fund then the name would have been OK but it is public money and her name should not be on it, to begin with. Irregularities come later.
General public of Pakistan particularly Chitral have strong reservation over Benazir income support Program, the following fact and figure for review and record.
1- First Majority of the undeserving people are availing the BISP, while conducting the survey of Beneficiary tracking sheet has been made bias survey has been made which against the principle of BISP
2- Secondly Every Government whether its Imran Khan or Nawaz Sharif allocated fund for BISP, due to its dire need for the ultra-poor severe need and concern, what happen due to not charge to its original nomenclature, during general election people casting vote to PPP due BISP it ideally should not be if so, this become bribe for the sake of vote
3- Thirdly We request PTI Government to kindly carry out resurvey in entire Pakistan via impartial observer to trace out deserving who can be avail the opportunity. Continuing the practice of previous government is not rational.